1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a system and method for leveraging external information sources to enhance sensing capabilities and, more particularly, to a system and method for using information from paired electronic devices and internet-accessible systems to enhance sensing capabilities of a primary system such as a vehicle system.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Cell phones have become increasingly sophisticated in recent years, and are now commonly used for email, internet access, various special-purpose applications, and, of course, their utility as a phone. Cell phones with such capabilities are often referred to as smartphones. Smartphones are typically designed to allow wireless Local Area Network (wireless LAN, also known as WiFi) or other wireless communications to be used for all applications except actual cell phone calls. However, in the absence of WiFi or other wireless communication channels, the cellular communication network is used to deliver data for all applications on demand.
Because of the wealth of applications supported by smartphones, many modern vehicles now support seamless integration of one or more smartphones with the vehicles' infotainment systems. For example, a smartphone could be used to stream music from an internet radio service to be played over a vehicle's audio system, or the smartphone could access an internet-based video-sharing site and display the videos on the vehicle's rear-seat entertainment screen. Many vehicles support integration of smartphones using wireless communication technologies, such as Bluetooth and WiFi, within the vehicle.
Other types of electronic devices are also frequently used in vehicles. Such devices include tablet-type computers and ebook readers, laptop computers, MP3 music players, gaming devices and others. Some of these devices may have cellular communications capability, while others do not. However, many such devices have some sort of wireless communication capability—such as Bluetooth or WiFi—which allow the devices to transfer files and data when network services are available. These devices may also have hardwire-connection data transfer capability, such as a universal serial bus (USB).
While it is known to pair a mobile device to a vehicle, there is a need in the art to enable mobile device sensors or other internet-accessible sensors to collaborate with a vehicle embedded platform, commonly referred to as a vehicle head unit, to leverage sensor capability that is external to the vehicle such that vehicle sensing capability is enhanced.